As India gears up for the England Test series, all eyes were on the much-anticipated intra-squad match between India and India A in Kent. Scheduled between June 13 and 16 - this four-day red-ball match is India’s only full-length preparatory game before the five-Test series begins on June 20 in Leeds.
Naturally, fans were eager to watch how players tuned up - especially after past warm-up fixtures against the England Lions were streamed live. However, this time the BCCI has taken a different route.
They have decided to shut the doors on both fans and the media.
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BCCI bans media from India vs India A intra-squad match
The BCCI confirmed that the intra-squad fixture will be held privately with no access to broadcasters or journalists. Even the streaming platforms that carried earlier warm-up games will not be involved.
"June 13–16: Closed intra-squad game. No vision access to Media/Broadcast. On the final day of the squad game, a player/member of support staff will be made available to the media," the BCCI said.
According to reports, the decision came from both the board and the team management. The match has no first-class status and the focus is entirely on allowing players to adapt, test combinations and work through strategies without public or media scrutiny.
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This decision is not unusual. Closed practice games are quite common in elite sports.
The Indian team have also held similar sessions during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy preparations. With players like KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur vying for spots and some uncertainty over squad roles, the team wants a distraction-free environment.
It’s expected that players will switch between India and India A sides for maximum match-time.